Because a rodent's teeth continually grow, the tooth surface must be constantly worn down or the animal cannot feed itself properly. For example, if a squirrel did not chew on hard things like nut shells, its teeth would grow too long. For this reason, there is a need for hard things that a pet rodent can chew on. The hard things should be plentiful, cheap and pleasing to the rodent to chew. Corn cobs soaked in salt brine with or without added vitamins and nutrients fill this requirement.
Other products utilize corn cobs in animal chew toys, but only after grinding the cob into small particles. For example, Simone et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,209, 5,407,661 & EP 0 552 897 A1) describes an edible pet chew containing cellulosic fibrous material generated from corn cobs. Corn cob fractions, ranging in particle size from about 20 to 250 microns make up about 25 to 35% of the composition of the chew by weight. The corn cob fractions are not digested, but increase roughage and bulk so as to assist the pet in the digestion of food. The chews, when chewed by a pet, effect a reduction in plaque, stain and tartar on the pet's teeth. However, no mention is made of wearing down teeth, or of utilizing a complete cob, as opposed to grinding the cob into particles.